King Kong
'King Kong '''is a 2005 epic adventure film and remake of the 1933 film of the same name. Directed, co-written and produced by Peter Jackson, the film stars Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, Jack Black as Carl Denham, Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll and, through motion capture, Andy Serkis as the title character (Serkis also played Lumpy, the galley chef on the SS Venture.) Set in 1932-1933 New York City and the nightmarish Skull Island, the film tells the story of an overly ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter King Kong, a legendary giant gorilla. Captured, he is displayed in New York City, with tragic results.The film's budget climbed from an initial US$150 million to a record-breaking $207 million. The film was released on December 14, 2005, and made an opening of $50.1 million. While the film performed lower than expectations, King Kong made domestic and worldwide grosses that eventually added up to $550 million, becoming the fourth-highest grossing film in Universal Pictures history. It also generated $100 million in DVD sales upon its home video release. The film garnered generally positive reviews from film critics and appeared on several "top ten" lists for 2005, though some reviewers criticized it for its 3 hour, 7 minute running time. It won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. Plot On September 25, 1933, in the height of the Great Depression in New York City, Ann Darrow has lost her job as a vaudeville actress but is hired by troubled filmmaker Carl Denham to act in his new film. Ann signs on when she learns her favorite playwright,Jack Driscoll, is the screenwriter. As their tramp steamer SS Venture sails to the remote and mysterious Skull Island, Ann and Jack fall in love. Captain Englehorn begins having second thoughts about the voyage, prompted by crew speculation of trouble ahead.Deep in the southern seas, the Venture receives a radio message from its owners informing Englehorn about an arrest warrant for Carl and instructing him to divert to Rangoon. Despite his attempt to comply, the ship is lost in fog and runs aground on rocks encircling Skull Island. Carl and his crew explore the island to film and are attacked by vicious natives. The sound technician and one of the sailors are killed. Ann screams as she is captured, and a roar beyond the wall responds. The matriarch of the tribe vows to sacrifice her to "Kong", a 25 ft. (8 m) tall gorilla. Englehorn and his crew break up the attack and return to the ship. They lighten their load to float off the rocks and carry out repairs, but Jack discovers Ann has been kidnapped. On the island, Ann is hung from a drawbridge on the side of the wall. The crew returns armed, but is too late as Kong takes Ann into the jungle. Ann wins Kong over with juggling and dancing, and begins to grasp Kong's intelligence and capacity for emotion.Englehorn organizes a rescue party led by first mate Hayes. The rescue party is caught up in a pack of Venatosaurus saevidicus (dromaeosaur descendants, related toVelociraptors) hunting a herd of Brontosaurus baxteri (massive, plant-eating sauropods), and the cameraman is killed along with three sailors. The rest of the rescue party come across a swamp where Bruce Baxter and two others leave the group. While making their way across a giant fallen log, Kong attacks the rescue party. Hayes is killed and the rest of the crew are shaken off the log into a ravine. Kong returns to Ann and rescues her from three Vastatosaurus rex, descendants of Tyrannosaurus rex, then takes her to his mountain lair. Englehorn, Baxter and the rest of the crew save the last three members of the rescue party from a pit of giant insects, and as Jack continues searching for Ann, Carl decides to capture Kong. Jack goes to Kong's lair, inadvertently waking him. As Kong fights a swarm of flying Terapusmordax, bat-like rodents, Ann and Jack escape. They arrive at the village wall with the angry Kong following them, and Ann becomes distraught by what Carl plans to do. Kong bursts through the gate and struggles to get her back, killing several sailors in the process, but is knocked out by chloroform. In New York, on December 25, Carl presents a chained Kong, the ''Eighth Wonder of the World on Broadway, starring Baxter and an imprisoned Kong. Ann has become an anonymous chorus girl. Camera flashes from photographers enrage Kong, who breaks free from his chrome-steel chains. Kong chases Jack in a taxi across town and knocks him out by stopping his taxi and flipping it, then encounters Ann again. Kong and Ann share a moment on a frozen pond in Central Park until the army attacks. Kong climbs with Ann onto the dome of the Empire State Building, where he fights off a flight of six Curtiss Falcon fighter planes, downing three. Kong is hit by several bursts of gunfire, and gazes at Ann for the last time before dying and falling from the building. Ann is greeted by Jack as reporters gather around Kong's corpse. Carl takes a last look and says, "It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast." Cast *Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow *Jack Black as Carl Denham *Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll *Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Englehorn *Colin Hanks as Preston *Andy Serkis as Kong/Lumpy *Evan Parke as Hayes *Jamie Bell as Jimmy *Lobo Chan as Choy *John Sumner as Herb *Craig Hall as Mike *Kyle Chandler as Bruce *William Johnson as Manny *Mark Hadlow as Harry *Geraldine Brophy as Maude *David Dennis as Taps *David Pittu as Weston *Pip Mushin as Zelman *Jim Knobeloch as Thuggish Executive *Ric Herbert as Sleazy Executive *Lee Donahue as Studio Assistant *Tom Hobbs as Young Assistant *Tiriel Mora as Fruit Vendor *Jed Brophy as Venture Crew *Frank Edwards as Venture Crew *Michael Lawrence as Venture Crew *Crawford Thomson as Venture Crew *Richard Kavanagh as Venture Crew *Stephen Hall as Venture Crew *Will Wallace as Venture Crew *Joe Folau as Venture Crew *Tim Wong as Venture Crew *Steve Reinsfield as Venture Crew *John Wraight as Venture Crew *Matthew Chamberlain as Venture Crew *Lee Hartley as Venture Crew (Radio Operator) *Troy O'Kane as Venture Crew *Louis Sutherland as Venture Crew *Jason Whyte as Venture Crew *Toa Waaka as Venture Crew *John Clarke as Venture Crew *Ray Woolf as Venture Crew (Helmsman) *David Dengelo as Venture Crew *Greg Smith as Venture Crew *Chris Bailey as Venture Crew *Peter McKenzie as Venture Crew *Peter Ford as Venture Crew *Tamihana Nuku as Venture Crew *Todd Rippon as Venture Crew *Eddie Campbell as Venture Crew (Crewman) *Roussel Dubois as Venture Crew *Billy Jackson as NY Child *Katie Jackson as NY Child *Tania Rodger as Hooverville Mother *Samuel Taylor as Hooverville Child *Hilton Dennis as Vaudeville Act *Geoff Dunstan as Vaudeville Act *Daniel Tusia as Vaudeville Act *Paul Wilson as Vaudeville Act *Shannon Wilson as Vaudeville Act *Jesse Rasmussen as Vaudeville Act *Sosina Wogayehu as Vaudeville Act *Peter Corrigan as Vaudeville Act *Colin Boggars as Vaudeville Act *Susan Eastwood as Vaudeville Act *Caron Dallas as Vaudeville Act *Darryl John as Vaudeville Act *Felicia O'Brien as Vaudeville Act *Phil Grieve as Laughing Man *Belindalee Hope as Burlesque Dancer *Crushanin Dixor-McIvor as Burlesque Dancer *Jodie Taylor as Burlesque Dancer *Jacinta Wawatai as Feral Child *Vicky Haughton as Sharwoman *Terence Griffiths as Skull Island Pole Vaulter Cry Havoc Actors *Luanne Gordon *Lorraine Ashbourne *Edwin Wright *Glen Drake *Tim Gordon as Hotel Clerk *Julia Walshaw as Woman on Broadway Show Pressmen *Geoff Timblick *Geoff Allen *Stephen A. Buckley as Cab Driver *Lee MacDonald as Chorus Line Tap Dancer *Matthew Dravitzki as Trampled Theatregoer *Stig Eldred as Army Commander *John Dybvig as NY Policeman NY Bystanders *Bob Burns *Kathy Burns *Joe Gertler *Jennifer Gertler Pilots *Rick Baker *Randall William Cook *Jim Dietz *Gene De Marco Gunners *Peter Jackson *Rick Porras *Frank Darabont *Hamish Bruce *Chic Littlewood as Old Security Guard *Lawrence Jarden as NY Police Chief *Matt Wilson as Photographer Photographers *Jim McLarty *Latham Gaines Production Develepment Peter Jackson was nine years old when he first saw the 1933 film, and was in tears in front of the TV when Kong slipped off the Empire State Building. At age 12, he attempted to recreate the film using his parents' Super 8 mm film camera and a model of Kong made of wire and rubber with his mother's fur coat for the hair, but eventually gave up on the project. King Kong eventually became his favorite film and was the primary inspiration for his decision to become a filmmaker as a teenager. He read books about the making of King Kong and collected memorabilia, as well as articles from Famous Monsters of Filmland. Jackson paid tribute to the 1933 film by including Skull Island as the origin of the zombie plague in his 1992 film Braindead. During the filming of Jackson's 1996 film The Frighteners, Universal Pictures was impressed with Jackson's dailies and early visual effects footage. The studio was adamant to work with Jackson on his next project and, in late 1995, offered him the chance to direct a remake of the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon. He turned down the offer, but Universal became aware of Jackson's obsession with King Kong and subsequently offered him the opportunity to direct that remake. The studio did not have to worry of lawsuits concerning the film rights from RKO Pictures (the studio behind the 1933 film) because the King Kong character is held in the public domain. Jackson initially turned down the King Kong offer, but he "quickly became disturbed by the fact that someone else would take it over," Jackson continued, "and make it into a terrible film; that haunted me and I eventually said yes to Universal." At the same time, Jackson was working with Harvey Weinstein and Miramax Films to purchase the film rights of the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, while 20th Century Fox was trying to hire him for the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes. Jackson turned down Planet of the Apes and because Weinstein was taking longer than expected to buy The Lord of the Rings rights, Jackson decided to move forward on King Kong. Weinstein was furious, and, as a result, Jackson proposed a deal between Universal and Miramax that the two studios would equally finance King Kong with Jackson's production company Wingnut Films. Universal would receive distribution rights in the United States, while Miramax would cover foreign territories. Jackson was also warranted the right of final cut privilege, a percentage of the gross profits, as well as artistic control; Universal allowed all filming and visual effects to be handled entirely in New Zealand. The deal was settled in April 1996, and Jackson, along with wife Fran Walsh, began working on the King Kong script. In the original draft, Ann was the daughter of famed English archaeologist Lord Linwood Darrow exploring ancient ruins in Sumatra. They would come into conflict with Denham during his filming, and they would uncover a hidden Kong statue and the map of Skull Island. This would indicate that the island natives were the last remnants of a cult religion that had once thrived on Asia's mainland. Instead of a playwright, Jack was the first mate and an ex-World War I fighter pilot still struggling with the loss of his best friend, who had been killed in battle during a World War I prologue. The camera-man Herb is the only supporting character in the original draft who made it to the final version. The fight between Kong and the three T. rex also changed from the original draft. In the draft, Ann is actually caught in the T. rex's jaws, where she becomes wedged, and slashed by the teeth; after the fight, Kong gets her out but she is suffering from a fever, from which she then recovers. Universal approved of the script with Robert Zemeckis as executive producer, and pre-production for King Kong started. The plan was to begin filming sometime in 1997 for a summer 1998 release date. Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, under the supervision ofRichard Taylor and Christian Rivers, began work on early visual effects tests, specifically the complex task of building a CGIversion of New York City circa 1933. Jackson and Walsh progressed with a second draft script, sets were being designed andlocation scouting commenced in Sumatra and New Zealand. In late 1996, Jackson flew to production of the 1997 film Titanic in Mexico to discuss the part of Ann Darrow with Kate Winslet, with whom he previously worked with on his 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. Minnie Driver was also being reportedly considered. Jackson's choices for Jack Driscoll and Carl Denham included George Clooney and Robert De Niro. However, development for King Kong was stalled in January 1997 when Universal became concerned over the upcoming release of the 1998 film Godzilla, as well as other ape-related remakes with the 1998 film Mighty Joe Young and the 2001 film Planet of the Apes. Universal abandoned King Kong in February 1997 after Weta Workshop and Weta Digital had already designed six months worth pre-production. Jackson then decided to start work on The Lord of the Rings film series. With the financial and critical success of the 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring and the 2002 film The Two Towers, Universal approached Jackson in early 2003, during the post-production of The Return of the King, concerning his interest in restarting development on King Kong. In March 2003, Universal set a target December 2005 release date and Jackson and Walsh brought The Lord of the Rings co-writer Philippa Boyens on to help rewrite their 1996 script. Jackson offered New Line Cinema the opportunity to co-finance with Universal, but they declined. Universal and Jackson originally projected a $150 million budget, which eventually rose to $175 million. Jackson made a deal with Universal whereby he would be paid a $20 million salary against 20% of the box office gross for directing, producing and co-writing. He shared that fee with co-writers Walsh (which also covered her producing credit) and Boyens. However, if King Kong were to go over its $175 million budget, the penalties would be covered by Jackson. Immediately after the completion of The Return of the King, Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, supervised by Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers and Joe Lettieri, started pre-production on King Kong. Jackson brought back most of the crew he had on The Lord of the Rings series, including cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, production designer Grant Major, art directors Simon Bright and Dan Hennan, conceptual designer Alan Lee, and editor Jamie Selkirk. Jackson, Walsh and Boyens began to write a new script in late October 2003. Jackson acknowledged that he was highly unsatisfied with the original 1996 script. "That was actually just Fran and Peter very hurriedly getting something down on paper," Boyens explained. "It was more one of many possible ways the story could go." The writers were adamant to base the new script on the 1933 film, rather than the 1996 script. They also included scenes that were either uncompleted or entirely omitted from James Ashmore Creelman's original script in the cutting room floor. In the scene where Kong shakes the surviving sailors pursuing Ann and himself from a log into the ravine, it was originally the intention of directors Merian Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack to feature giant spiders emerging from the rock to devour their bodies. This was cut from the original release print, and remains known to Kong fans only via a rare still that appeared in Famous Monsters of Filmland. Jackson included this scene and elaborated upon it. Jackson, Walsh and Boyens also cited Delos W. Lovelace's 1932 novelization of King Kong as inspiration, which included the character Lumpy (Andy Serkis). To make the relationship between Ann Darrow and Kong plausible, the writers studied hours of gorilla footage. Jackson also optioned Early Havoc, a memoir written by vaudeville performer June Havoc to help Walsh and Boyens flesh out Ann Darrow's characterization. Carl Denham was intentionally modeled after and inspired by Orson Welles. Their new draft was finished in February 2004. Filming Principal photography started on September 6, 2004 at Camperdown Studios in Miramar, New Zealand. Camperdown housed the native village, and the Great Wall, while the streets of New York City were constructed on a backlot. The majority of the SS Venturescenes were shot aboard a full-scale deck constructed in the parking lot at Camperdown Studios and then were backed with a green screen, with the ocean digitally added in post. Scenes set in the Broadway theater from which King Kong makes his escape were filmed in Wellington's Opera House and at the Auckland Civic Theatre. Filming also took place at Stone Street Studios, where a new sound stage was constructed to accommodate one of the sets. Over the course of filming the budget went from $175 million to $207 million over additional visual effects work needed, and Jackson extending the film's running time by thirty minutes. Jackson covered the $32 million surplus himself and finished filming in March 2005. The film's budget climbed from an initial US$150 million to a record-breaking $207 million, making it at one point the most expensive film yet made. Universal Pictures only agreed to such an outlay after seeing a screening of the unfinished film, to which executives responded enthusiastically. Marketing and promotion costs were an estimated $60 million. The film's length also grew; originally set to be 135 minutes, it soon grew to 200, prompting Universal executives to fly to New Zealand to view a rough cut, but they liked it so their concerns were addressed. Other difficulties included Peter Jackson's decision to change composers from Howard Shore to James Newton Howard seven weeks before the film opened. Visual effects Jackson decided early on that he did not want Kong to behave like a human, and so he and his team studied hours of gorilla footage. Andy Serkis, who modelled his movement, went to London Zoo to watch the gorillas, but was unsatisfied. He ended up going toRwanda to observe mountain gorillas in the wild. The resulting Kong is entirely a special effect, who acts and moves very much like a real gorilla. Apart from Kong, Skull Island is inhabited by dinosaurs and other large fauna. Inspired by Dougal Dixon's works, the designers imagined what 65 million years or more of isolated evolution might have done to dinosaurs. Release The marketing campaign for King Kong started in full swing on June 27, 2005, when the teaser trailer made its debut, first online at the official Volkswagen website at 8:45 p.m. EST, then 8:55 p.m. EST across media outlets owned by NBC Universal (the parent of Universal Studios), including NBC, Bravo!, CNBC and MSNBC. That trailer appeared in theatres attached to War of the Worlds, which opened on June 29. Jackson also regularly published a series of 'Production Diaries', which chronicled the film's production. The diaries started shortly after the DVD release of The Return of the King as a way to give Jackson's The Lord of the Rings fans a glimpse of his next project. These diaries are edited into broadband-friendly installments of three or four minutes each. They consist of features that would normally be seen in a making-of documentary: a tour of the set, a roving camera introducing key players behind the scene, a peek inside the sound booth during last-minute dubbing, or Andy Serkis doing his ape movements in a motion capture studio. A novelisation of the film and a prequel entitled The Island of the Skull was also written. A multi-platform video game, entitled Peter Jackson's King Kong, was released, which featured an alternate ending. There was a hardback book entitled The World of Kong, featuring artwork from Weta Workshop to describe the film's fictional bestiary. Reception In North America, King Kong grossed $9.7 million during its Wednesday opening and $50.1 million over its first weekend for a five-day total of $66.1 million. Some analysts considered these initial numbers disappointing, saying that studio executives had been expecting more. The film went on to gross $218.1 million in the domestic market and ended up in the top five highest-grossing films of the year there. The film grossed an additional $332.4 million in the international box office for a worldwide total of $550.5 million which not only ranked it in the top five highest-grossing films of 2005 worldwide, but also helped the film bring back more than two and a half times its production budget.During its home video release, King Kong sold over $100 million worth of DVDs in the largest six-day performance in Universal Studios history. As of April 3, 2006, King Konghas sold more than 7.5 million DVDs, accumulating over $140 million worth of sales numbers in the domestic market. As of June 25, 2006, King Kong has generated almost $38 million from DVD rental gross. In February 2006, TNT/TBS and ABC paid Universal Studios $26.5 million for the television rights to the film. Critical reaction The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The films holds an 84% "Certified Fresh" rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.7/10 based on 258 reviews. The site's consensus from the collected reviews was "Featuring state-of-the-art special effects, terrific performances, and a majestic sense of spectacle, Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong is a potent epic that's faithful to the spirit of the 1933 original." The film's most common criticism was its excessive length and lack of pace but was regarded as one of "a few good epics" and was placed it on several 'top ten' critics lists. Roger Ebertgave the film four stars, and listed it as 2005's eighth best film. The film received four Academy Award nominations for Visual Effects, Sound Mixing (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek), Sound Editing, and Production Design, winning all but the last. Entertainment Weekly called the depiction of Kong the most convincing computer-generated character in film in 2005. Some criticized the film for retaining racist stereotypes present in the 1933 film, though it was not suggested that Jackson had done this intentionally. King Kong ranks 450th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Home media King Kong was released on DVD on March 28, 2006 in the United States. The three versions that came out were a single discfullscreen, a single disc widescreen and a two-disc Widescreen Special Edition. A three-disc Deluxe Extended Edition was released on November 14, 2006 in the U.S., and on November 1 in Australia. Thirteen minutes were put back into the film, and a further forty minutes presented alongside the rest of the special features. The film was spread onto the first two discs with commentary by Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens, and some featurettes on discs one and two, whilst the main Special Features are on disc three. Another set was released, including a WETA figurine of a bullet-ridden Kong scaling the Empire State Building, roaring at the army with Ann in hand. The extended film amounts to 201 total minutes. A special HD DVD version of King Kong was part of a promotional pack for the release of the external HD DVD Drive for the Xbox 360. The pack contained the HD DVD drive, the Universal Media Remote and King Kong on HD DVD. It was also available separately as a standard HD DVD. The film's theatrical and extended cuts were released together on Blu-ray Disc on January 20, 2009. Category:Browse